How important is the Cover Letter?

The cover
letter is your introduction to a potential employer. What
you write in it is the first impression the person gains
about your, your capabilities and your personality.
Therefore everyone who sends out a resume needs a cover
letter. Whether you send it by mail, e-mail, fax or
delivered by hand, is immaterial.

Every
job offered has different requirements and, it is
therefore essential, that you write
a specific cover letter for every job application.
There is no such thing as a "general
cover letter". Most potential employers
see a general cover letter as a sign of a lack of
genuine interest in the job and, your chances of
being considered for the offered position will be
significantly hurt. Therefore, take the time and
make the effort to send a cover letter that is
tailored to the specific job and to the
company you are applying to. Although, it creates
additional work, the positive side of the cover
letter is that it provides you with an additional
chance to emphasize what you have to contribute
to the job, the company or organization.

Remember, the person looking at your
submission will ask himself: "How
can this person help us?" Your cover
letter has to answer that question in your own words.
Your resume will provide the detailed support of the
answer.

The
Essential Rules for creating an effective Cover Letter

The
Cover letter must not have any spelling or typing
errors. Have it read by someone else and
checked before you send it.

Is
is important to get the hiring manager's name so
that you can address your application to a
specific person. If you send your
resumes uninvited to the personnel department,
make every attempt to find his details .
Sometimes a phone call will give you the
information about who makes the hiring decisions.
Be sure the person's name is spelled
correctly and that you have his or her correct
title. Address the person with his or
her proper social title, e.g. "Mr.,"
"Ms.," "Mrs.,"
"Miss," "Dr.," or
"Professor." Keep the Cover Letter
formal and to the point.

Write
the Cover Letter in your own words and
do not use a standardized "copied format
letter". Do not be chatty or too personal:
Keep it formal! In order to be effective, the
Cover Letter should transmit and highlight your
relevant experience, knowledge, enthusiasm, and
focus on the potential job in a logical and
systematic manner. Group the items you
specifically want to address and be concise
within each paragraph.

Do
not use slang, "Internet jargon ", or
other expressions which some people consider
"natural" (as opposed to
academic or formal!).Today, many
employers are seriously concerned about the
"sloppy" and inappropriate use of
language. They may deduce, once you
become an employee, you will communicate using
inappropriate language. On the other hand, do not
use words you picked from the Thesaurus without
being absolutely sure, that you understand their
proper meaning and the context in which a word or
expression is used. If you are not sure about
your grammar, there are books you can purchase.
If you submit an application for an international
job, remember that writing styles and grammar
differs from one English speaking country to
another.

Indicate
in your Cover Letter that you have acquired some
knowledge about the company and/or the industry.
Do some research before you write the resume and
the cover letter. But keep the communication of
this knowledge within clearly defined limits. The
purpose of showing your potential employer that
you know something about them, is to make it
clear, that you did not pick the company at
random. You want to show the hiring manager, that
you know who they are and that you have
deliberately chosen them!

Use
language that is appropriate and relevant to the
employer. If you are applying for an
advertised position, use the advertised
requirements and work them into your resume or
cover letter, if necessary emphasize them in bold
script. Be sure to address the specific
requirements and shortly indicate how you can
fulfill them.

Some
useful Books from amazon.com

Resume
and Cover Letter Writing Services

We have a
resume writing service that offers a written
resume sent to you by e-mail based on your data,
plus a generic Cover Letter (or a specific one,
if you want that). Turn around is usually 48-72
hours. MS Word format (.doc not docx) or
html. Please send the supporting material (resume
draft, cover letter draft in .doc or .txt
format only, and a short description of
job applied for) after the payment to the address
given in the order acknowledgement.

Special
services such as translations or
the writing of a Curriculum
Vitae are also available.

Editing your Resume and Cover Letter

We will edit your existing resume
and a specific cover letter. You send us your
resume and cover letter by e-mail and we will
edit it to help it along and make it appropriate
to the job you apply to. Obviously we will need a
short description of the job as well (we do not
need the employers name, but the country location
would be useful since resume and cover letters
can different from one country to another).
Please send the supporting material (resume,
cover letter in .doc or .txt format only,
and a short description of job applied for) after
the payment to the address given in the order
acknowledgement. We will normally edit your
resume/cover letter within 72 hours.